October 4, 2008

After more than two years of nudging and cajoling by RailPAC, Amtrak has finally rescheduled the weekend 798 Surfliner train and reduced the running time by over 30 minutes. 

Currently the 798 waits at Moorpark for Metrolink trains over the single track from Simi Valley.  No Metrolink trains run on Saturdays and Sundays and we have pointed this out to Amtrak and the LOSSAN Board on numerous occasions.  The new train, 792, takes the same schedule as far as Moorpark and then runs 35 minutes earlier to Los Angeles.  RailPAC thank Amtrak General Superintendent, Southwest Division, Joe Yannuzzi, for pushing this through.  The change takes effect with the fall schedule on 10/27/08.  Weekend riders along the coast will no longer have this frustrating and unnecessary delay, and we hope this will encourage more visitors to the coastal cities to take the train.

Now we push ahead with the bigger task, to forge some cooperation between Metrolink and Amtrak to improve the weekday schedule.

Paul Dyson
President